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Trail Conditions

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Metro | Southern | Northeastern | Northwestern

Why Are Trails Closed?

It Just Rained, Is It OK To Ride?

Metro Trail Conditions
Please monitor trail conditions often and do not ride when conditions are wet or closed.

Trail	Status	Guide	Brief Condition Description	Update By	Date Posted
Afton Alps	Closed		Closed for the season.	Ish	11-06-2009, 08:01 PM
Battle Creek	Closed		Ski trails have now been groomed at Battle Creek. Once this happens, Ramsey County has requested th...	TML	12-11-2009, 10:29 AM
Elm Creek	Dry		just go	Yammer	11-12-2009, 11:21 PM
Hillside Park	Closed		Closed for the Spring Thaw Hillside Park is now closed until it dries out enough to be ridden wit...	RichZilla	03-06-2010, 10:10 AM
Lake Rebecca	Needs Packing		Did a lap around the MTB course with snowshoes. There has been a decent amount of snowshoe traffic, ...	Ol' Dirty Biker	12-20-2009, 06:16 PM
Lebanon Hills	Closed		The mountain bike trails are now closed due to wet conditions. The trails will remain closed during ...	gopherhockey	03-09-2010, 07:25 AM
Mammoth	Dry		Except for a couple sunny but sheltered spots, the whole thing was frozen solid. A dusting of snow h...	dave t	12-07-2009, 08:11 AM
MN River Bottoms	Packed Snow		Rode from Lyndale to Bloomington Ferry & back this A.M. Trail was well packed & relatively smooth, g...	Don Youngdahl	03-03-2010, 09:09 PM
Monticello	Dry		trail is in great shape,even after the temperature hit a balmy 20 rode from 9 till 1 and no adverse ...	sam	12-06-2009, 08:49 PM
Murphy Hanrehan	Needs Packing		...	setzep	02-24-2010, 10:05 AM
Salem Hills	Needs Packing		Shoe'd the North Loop and Pond Loop with my son this morning. Some sections are close to ridable wi...	Tomg	12-30-2009, 11:01 AM
Terrace Oaks	Closed		As noted, Terrace Oaks is closed for the season. Terrace Oaks typically reopens approximat...	jeffgude	11-02-2009, 02:34 PM
Theodore Wirth	Closed		Gates are shut....trails are closed during spring thaw. A few muddy spots with tread damage already....	manual63	03-03-2010, 05:45 PM

Southern Minnesota Trail Conditions
Please monitor trail conditions often and do not ride when conditions are wet or closed.

Trail	Status	Guide	Brief Condition Description	Update By	Date Posted
7-Mile	Powder		great time of the year to get out and stomp around at 7 mile, up the hills down the hills its all go...	werts	12-31-2009, 04:00 PM
Grandmas Trail	Powder		Great XC ski conditions! Would take a lot to pack it in enough for biking.	Trevize1138	02-27-2010, 02:07 PM
Holzinger Lodge	Dry		Trail was sweet!	kyle	09-20-2009, 11:51 AM
Mt. Kato	Closed		Closed to two wheelers, I imagine.	V	12-21-2009, 11:10 AM
Memorial Trail	Damp		The freeze and cool temps firmed everything up. Should be good.	gus man	12-04-2009, 01:58 PM

Northwestern Minnesota Trail Conditions
Please monitor trail conditions often and do not ride when conditions are wet or closed.

Trail	Status	Guide	Brief Condition Description	Update By	Date Posted
Jail Trail	Closed		MMCC blog says, the trail is now closed. http://www.midmncyclingclub.blogspot.com/	Grass Rider	12-17-2009, 05:55 PM
Milaca	Tacky		Rode today around 2pm...29 degrees...ground was mostly frozen, leaf covered a bit tacky or dry...Br...	fatbaldpop1	12-02-2009, 11:01 PM
Cuyuna Lakes	Closed		Initial post for Cuyuna's trail conditions thread.	gopherhockey	05-19-2009, 12:49 PM

Northeastern Minnesota Trail Conditions
Please monitor trail conditions often and do not ride when conditions are wet or closed.

Trail	Status	Guide	Brief Condition Description	Update By	Date Posted
Grand Rapids	Tacky		Trail is clear of obstructions and leaves. Get out and ride!:banana:	wallybiker	11-23-2009, 09:46 PM
Hartley Park	Wet		w/ all the rain we've had yesterday and what we're gonna get, now would be the time to stay off the ...	mtnbykr	11-23-2009, 06:05 AM
Piedmont Trail	Dry		There isn't an option to describe the trail as "Frozen", but that's what it is. Jack Frost has hard...	Adam S	12-06-2009, 03:44 PM

Out Of State Trail Conditions
Please monitor trail conditions often and do not ride when conditions are wet or closed.

Trail	Status	Guide	Brief Condition Description	Update By	Date Posted
Levis Trow	Dry		Spent a good chunck of the day at Levis yesterday and conditions were out of this world. Trail is re...	looper	05-25-2009, 08:24 AM

Why Are Trails Closed?

Sustainable trails are built so that water will run across the trail, not down it. When water runs down the trail it focuses the water and increases erosion. Riding wet trails creates ruts that will focus the water and increase erosion.

Riding wet trails also increases cupping of the trail surface and causes puddles to get deeper and wider, both of which slow the recovery of the trail.

Trails are closed (and often fenced off) during the freeze/thaw cycle in the fall and spring. During these times, trails are especially susceptible to significant damage.

Trails may also be closed after significant weather events, or if there are unsafe trail conditions.

The trails around the Twin Cities metro area are particularly sensitive due to the very large numbers of users these trails get every year.

When trails turn into maintenance headaches, land managers start to consider closing trails for good... PLEASE do your part to ensure that we have access to great trails by riding responsibly. Together we can keep these mountain biking opportunities available for generations to come!

Wet Trail Conditions

Beyond major closures, knowing when not to ride after a rainfall can be less obvious. Trails will not be posted as closed or fenced off after normal rainfalls/storms, so it is up to you to make an educated decision. Here are some general rules regarding wet conditions:

- Trails should not be used during wet weather, or when the trail is soft or muddy.
- Trails are open if the trail is firm and the surface will not be disturbed by foot or bike travel.
- PLEASE be patient if the trail isn't ready... allow the trail to dry before riding.
- Trails are typically too wet to ride for 18-24 hours after a significant rainfall.
- Riding wet trails damages the trail by creating ruts that increase erosion.

Please check the Trail Conditions Pages above for the most up-to-date information. And if you ride a trail, please take a minute and update the conditions if they haven't been updated in a while... this is a great way to both help out your fellow riders and help preserve the trails we love!

For more information on the trails shown above, click here to see our trail reviews area.

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